Blackwolf the Dragonmaster's Diary of Magecraft

Being a Chronicle of the Inner Secrets of, and Spells of Magick as Wielded by, the Philosopher of the Internet and Unofficial Sorcerer-in-Residence of the City of New York

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Location: New York, New York, United States

As New York's Unofficial Wizard, my mission is to encourage the Mortals of Manhattan to imagine responsibly!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Ken Jennings, Classic American

You've probably noticed, I'm sure, that nowhere in any of my posts here at the Diary of Magecraft (this is #352, for those of you keeping score), or at the parent Dark Chambers website, have I made any links to one of the classic Americans: Ken Jennings. Like most of you Mortals, your Dragonmaster was there to witness Ken's spectacular dominion of Jeopardy!; doubtless a lot of you out there were under the assumption that inevitably his run on that program would ultimately become The Ken Jennings Show (in fact, I had a few nightmares where Johnny Gilbert started the show with "It's The Ken Jennings Show!" or else, I'd hear Johnny say, "On the next Ken Jennings Show....."

Still, one cannot deny, as we move closer to Independence Day 2008, that Ken is still one of the Classic Americans. He revealed the truth that Jeopardy! is not so much a so-called 'game show' as it is a window on our world. Every day, six days a week, Jeopardy!'s writers explore every known reference book and informational website imaginable to secure answers for future episodes; more times than on any given day, the program is made available to educators for classroom use; and more than once, the Jennings story has been the subject of a few hilarious spoofs, be it on Saturday Night Live or Mad TV. Regardless, Ken Jennings' story is one of the classic American sagas --- so, if I were you, I would go out and buy one or all of Ken's books. I'm sure that he has plenty of exciting things to tell you about our world and our various places therein.

Why do you think, my dears, that I have, partly thanks to YouTube, rediscovered Al Hamm's news package theme, Move Closer to Your World? We all recall the groove it gave us when WPIX had it as the theme for what was then its 10 o'clock Action News; these days, the only place you'll hear it now is on Philadelphia's WPVI/ABC6HD. Moving closer to one's world has worked wonders for many of us in this day and age; I suspect it'll work for your Dragonmaster as well.

Master Blackwolf